Akai Chishio no Habanero
by Gazing on the Arabesque
Summary: It's career day at the Academy, and Uchiha Mikoto is assigned to Naruto. As she takes him on a tour, she remembers what life was like when his mother was alive.


**Wow… I've never written about Kushina and Mikoto before… I liked how they were friends in the manga, so I thought I'd just expand on their friendship. The normal text is what's happening right now, and the italics are all flashbacks. I hope it's not too confusing. Anyway, enjoy!**

XX

"Come here, Naruto," Uchiha Mikoto instructed. Ever since Iruka had told her that she would be in charge of Naruto during Career Day at the Academy, she'd had a knot in her stomach. The name rang again and again in her head, almost like it was mocking her. _Uzumaki Naruto_. Son of _Uzumaki Kushina_. Who was married to _Namikaze Minato_. Mikoto gave an involuntary shudder. She had never really gotten over the sudden death of her closest friend. Naruto ran up to her, eying her quizzically. Mikoto smiled good-naturedly at him.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked, frowning slightly. Mikoto took this time to study his features. He looked exactly like a younger version of Minato. No matter how long she stared at Minato's face carved into the mountain, Minato did _not_ look less like an older version of Naruto. How could people _not_ notice this? She clasped her hands together tightly as she recalled what happened when she found out about Kushina's death:

_ Mikoto walked hesitantly into the Hokage's office. To her surprise, it was the Sandaime sitting there instead of the Yondaime. She bowed her head in respect, ignoring that gnawing feeling that something was terribly, horribly wrong. Sitting on the Hokage's desk was a small wooden basket. "Sandaime-sama," Mikoto acknowledged._

_ "Uchiha Mikoto," he acknowledged. "Come here." He gestured towards the basket sitting on his desk. Inside was a small baby with spiky blonde hair. Mikoto fought back a scream as she saw the familiar swirl on his stomach. She'd seen it time and again on Kushina's stomach, so why was it on this baby boy? "Do you have any idea who this child is?" The baby was sleeping peacefully, as if nothing could go wrong. Unsure of what exactly she was doing, Mikoto picked up the baby boy and cradled him in her arms. She shut her eyes pensively._

_ "Naruto," she whispered. The truth was beginning to sink in. "Namikaze Naruto." She reopened her eyes slowly. "At least… that's what Kushina said she wanted to name him." The Third Hokage's eyes narrowed sadly._

_ "Well, Uzumaki Naruto now," he corrected. "Kushina and Minato are dead. No one can know about his parents. There will be trouble if this sort of information leaks out." His eyes shifted upwards and he locked eyes with Mikoto. "Which is why you absolutely cannot tell anyone about this boy's heritage." _

_ "At least let me take him in," Mikoto insisted. "If…" A hard knot formed in her throat."If Kushina and Minato are dead, then—"_

_ "I am well aware of your relationship with Uzumaki Kushina," the Sandaime continued, "however that would be much too risky. People would know you were friends with Kushina. They would connect the dots and figure out who Naruto's parents are." Mikoto stared at the floor, willing herself not to cry. It was bad enough that Kushina was dead. _

_ "But he's just a baby…" she whispered. "He doesn't have any family left." The Third Hokage nodded slowly._

_ "I know," he said. "A most unfortunate predicament." Mikoto clasped her hands together._

_ "Hokage-sama, please!" she pleaded. "If… if what you say is true… then he's an orphan now. He has no family left! If I could just—"_

_ "People would get suspicious," the Hokage said simply. Mikoto made no effort to stop the tears that were now sliding down her face. "It's bad enough that he's not an Uchiha. Did you know Minato was a Senju?"_

_ "Do you honestly think anyone cares about that anymore?" she yelled. Mikoto really didn't mean to get angry, but she couldn't help herself. "All this Uchiha Senju crap is over! Done! No one cares about it anymore!"_

_ "Some still do," the Third Hokage said. Mikoto's eyes averted to the floor._

_ "Hokage-sama…" she whispered. "Please…"_

_ "I'm sorry, Mikoto," the Hokage said sadly._

Mikoto opened her eyes slowly, and the young Naruto was staring up at her, wide-eyed. Mikoto smiled again as she held her hand out towards him. "You're not a monster, Naruto," she said. A warm, fuzzy feeling enveloped her. It was like she was talking to Kushina again. Now that she thought about it, Naruto _did_ have Kushina's eyes… "At least, I don't think so. You haven't done anything to hurt anyone intentionally and you haven't shown any ill will towards anyone. So why should I hate you?" Naruto looked honestly confused. Mikoto's grin widened. "Come. Let me show you around." Mikoto couldn't help smiling as more memories with Kushina flooded to the surface…

_Kushina frowned at her rather swollen feet. "Do your feet always get this big when you're pregnant?" she asked, wiggling her toes. Mikoto grinned as she stared down at her equally large feet._

_ "Yup," she replied. "All the time." Kushina growned. _

_ "They shrink when you go into labor, right?" Kushina grumbled. Mikoto shrugged._

_ "I guess so…" she mumbled. A high-pitched wail echoed throughout the house. Mikoto and Kushina simultaneously groaned._

_ "I went last time," Kushina said automatically._

_ "Nice try," Mikoto retorted with a smirk. "I've been keeping track." She showed Kushina a slip of white paper with their names on it and a bunch of tally marks underneath each name. Kushina had one less tally mark than Mikoto. Kushina groaned as she hobbled to her feet. _

_ "See how mean she is, Naruto?" she asked her swollen belly. "Making a pregnant woman work."_

_ "Oh you're one to talk!" Mikoto retorted. "I'm due before you are, so shouldn't you be the one doing most of the work?" Kushina merely stuck her tongue out at Mikoto. She disappeared further into the house and came back holding a bawling pink-haired baby. "Aw, don't cry Sakura-chan!" she cooed. The baby Sakura only cried harder. She glared ahead at no one in particular. "Seriously, she's literally three months old! Since when do her parents have anything better to do than take care of her?"_

_ "That's the thing," Mikoto said as she took Sakura from Kushina. Sakura seemed to calm down a little bit when Mikoto held her. "They've spent all their time looking after Sakura, so they just wanted a break."_

_ "And why do we have to do this again?" Kushina grumbled. _

_ "Because _you _were the one seriously bored being pregnant," Mikoto reminded her best friend. "And you dragged me into it too. You should have known you'll only get D-ranks if you're pregnant." Kushina huffed in annoyance._

_ "Being pregnant sucks. Worst D-rank ever." Mikoto smiled warmly at the baby Sakura, who was now sleeping soundly in her arms._

_ "But the joy a new son or daughter brings more than makes up for all the pain and suffering we have to go through when we're pregnant." A long silence fell among them. _

_ "Poor kid," Kushina said. Mikoto looked up expectantly. "Sakura." Kushina pointed at the sleeping baby in Mikoto's arms. "Her name's Haruno Sakura. No one's going to take her seriously with a name like that. Her hair's _pink_ too." Mikoto smiled._

_ "She's just like you," Mikoto commented softly. "She's so loud, not to mention she has unnaturally-colored hair." Kushina mock glared at her. _

_ "No one's going to take her seriously," Kushina repeated._

_ "Who ever said she was going to be a shinobi?" Mikoto asked softly, staring down at the sleeping Sakura._

_ "Whoever said she _wasn't_ going to be one?" Kushina shot back, smirking. "I mean, I know her parents are civilians and all, but…" Mikoto let out a giggle._

_ "Imagine what it would be like if our children and Sakura were all on the same genin team," she said. Kushina frowned and pursed her lips._

_ "Namikaze Naruto…" she said slowly. "Haruno Sakura… and Uchiha…" She eyed her friend nervously. "Uchiha…"_

_ "Sasuke," Mikoto finished softly. "Fugaku and I decided on that name a couple days ago." Kushina smiled warmly._

_ "That's a nice name," she commented. Mikoto raised her eyebrows._

_ "Yes it is," she agreed. _

_ "So Namikaze Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke." She grinned at Mikoto. "That has a nice ring to it."_

_ "Seriously, what were you and Minato thinking when you decided to name your kid _Naruto_? Isn't that a type of fish or something?" Kushina glared at her._

_ "So what?" she shot back. "It's a perfectly fine name." _

_ "I never said anything was wrong with it!" Sakura started to whimper. She stared up at Mikoto and Kushina with large green eyes. "Oh no! Don't cry!" Kushina took Sakura from Mikoto and rocked her gently._

_ "Don't cry, Sakura-chan!"_

Mikoto was snapped back to reality by Naruto tugging on her hand. "Um…" he said. "Mikoto-san… Weren't you going to explain what this place is?" Mikoto's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh…" she said quietly. "Yes… This is the Konoha Military Police Force's main building." She gestured towards the symbol painted on the building's façade. "See the Uchiha Clan symbol? The Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama-sama, entrusted the Uchiha with the Konoha Military Police Force as a sign of trust. Now anyone can join if they qualify, but it's still composed mainly of Uchiha clan members." Naruto nodded, looking quite bored. Mikoto forced a smile. "What's your goal as a shinobi, Naruto?" Naruto looked up in surprise.

"I'm going to become Hokage!" he announced loudly, smiling determinedly. Mikoto chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"That's a pretty big dream you've got there," she said. "Just how far are you willing to go to achieve it?" Naruto glared at her.

"What?" he practically growled. "You think I can't do it?" Mikoto simply shook her head.

"Oh I have no doubts about that," she said. She smiled encouragingly at him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I think you'll make a great Hokage, Naruto." _Just like your father._ Suddenly, the doors to the Konoha Military Police Force swung open, revealing Fugaku and Itachi. Fugaku glanced from Mikoto to Naruto.

"Mikoto, what are you doing here?" he asked. Itachi smiled and waved.

"_Ohaiyo, Okaa-san_," he said. Mikoto smiled up at them both.

"Today's career day at the Academy," she explained as she pulled Naruto closer towards her. "I'm just showing Naruto around." Fugaku's eyes narrowed slightly at Naruto, who almost immediately looked away. Mikoto stared down at him in concern. She forced a smile. "We'll be going now. Bye!" And with that, she walked away, Naruto following closely behind her. He cast one more fleeting glance at Fugaku and Itachi.

_"Seriously, Mikoto, do you even like this guy?" Kushina asked as she stood next to Mikoto with her arms crossed. Mikoto was wearing a long white gown and her dark hair was pulled back into an intricate knot. _

_ "He's nice enough," Mikoto said, chewing on her lower lip. She turned to the side and stared at her profile reflection in the mirror. "He's kind to me. He's a good man." Kushina huffed in annoyance._

_ "What was his name again?" she asked impatiently._

_"Fugaku," Mikoto replied. "Uchiha Fugaku."_

_"Isn't he your fourth cousin three times removed or something?" Kushina asked. "Or was it third cousin four times removed?" Mikoto just shook her head._

_ "Kushina…" she said. "I've known since I was a little girl that this was bound to happen. That I'd never have true love. That I'd be married off to some relative of mine to strengthen clan ties. It… It was destined to happen."_

_ "Oh cut the destiny crap!" Kushina yelled, pointing a finger at Mikoto accusingly. "You're starting to sound just like Hizashi!" Mikoto looked up._

_ "Who?" she asked, turning her head to look at her friend._

_ "Hyuuga," Kushina clarified. "You know… Hiashi's brother?" Mikoto raised her eyebrows._

_ "Clan heir?" she asked._

_ "Come on, Mikoto!" Kushina whined. "You're going to be a clan leader in one week! You should know this stuff by now!" Mikoto sighed._

_ "Do you really think I can do it?" she asked quietly. "Lead the Uchiha clan, I mean." Mikoto stared at the floor. "I mean… aren't you better suited to lead a clan than I am?" _

_ "Maybe, but _you're_ the Uchiha here," Kushina said. A wide grin spread across her face. "You can do it, Mikoto!" she said. "You'll be a great clan leader!" Mikoto gave a small smile._

_ "I hope you're right…"_

Mikoto and Naruto now stood at the front of the Academy. Mikoto glanced down at the watch on her wrist. "We still have some time left," she said, more to herself than to Naruto. She looked over at Naruto, who was sitting on the swing underneath the tree near the Academy, staring at his feet. One of her hands unconsciously groped for her heart. "Come here, Naruto." She said quietly. Naruto hopped off the swing and walked over to her. He looked up at her expectantly. "We still have some time left, and there's still one more place I want to stop by." Naruto's eyes seemed to light up with excitement.

"What is it?" he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Mikoto just shook her head and began walking away from the Academy.

"Follow me," was all she said. She led Naruto over to a cemetery and stopped at one tombstone. She had picked up some flowers on the way and she laid them gently down on the grave. Mikoto clasped her hands together and closed her eyes pensively. Naruto stared at the grave, then up at Mikoto.

"Why are we here, Mikoto-san?" he asked. Mikoto smiled faintly.

"This is something I do every day," she explained. She gestured towards Kushina's grave. "I visit my best friend's grave." Naruto leaned forward and squinted at the name engraved in the tombstone.

"Namikaze… Kushina," he read. Mikoto stared sadly at the grave.

"Naruto, this is why I asked you how far you were willing to go to achieve your goals," she said, not once diverting her gaze from the tombstone. "The life of a shinobi is never easy, Naruto. It can be the most rewarding experience of your life, or it could be the most miserable." Her voice cracked. "You… you could be talking and celebrating with your best friend one day and…" Tears formed in her eyes. "And then you could lose that same friend the next day…" A single tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "But… You need to be strong. You need to fight to see another day. When your loved ones die…" She choked on a sob. "You no longer live only for yourself. You live for them too. So that they wouldn't have died in vain." Naruto looked up at Mikoto and clasped her hand tightly.

"What was she like?" he asked. "Your friend." More tears rolled down Mikoto's cheeks. She wiped them with her free hand.

"She was… the best friend I could ever ask for," she said. "She was always so strong, so cheerful all the time. She was the brightest spot in my life… in all of our lives." Mikoto gave a small laugh. "You see… she had this way of cheering people up… of making them feel… _worth_ something… even in the darkest of times." Naruto rested his head on Mikoto's arm.

"She sounds like a really nice person," he commented. Mikoto smiled.

"She was," she said. She paused. "She had a son too. Just a few months younger than Sasuke." Naruto frowned slightly when she mentioned Sasuke. Mikoto's eyes averted to the ground. "When Kushina and Minato died… I begged Hokage-sama to let me take you in. You were just a tiny baby then… all alone, with no one else there for you." Naruto looked up at her and frowned in confusion.

"Me?" he asked. Mikoto's eyes widened slightly in shock as she realized her mistake. She forced a smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "Not you. My friend's son." Naruto stared back at the tombstone.

"Oh…" he mumbled. An awkward silence fell among them as they both continued to stare at the tombstone.

"Naruto, we should be heading back to the Academy now," Mikoto said after a long silence. Naruto nodded.

"Ok," he whispered. He broke away from Mikoto and started to walk in the opposite direction. Mikoto began to follow him, then cast one more fleeting glance at Kushina's grave.

_"Oh look," one of the Academy students grumbled on the first day of the new school year. "_Another_ Uchiha." He jerked his head in Mikoto's direction. Mikoto could tell that they had already been Academy students for at least a year now. The boy next to him just shook his head._

_ "I swear, they just keep coming and coming," he said. Another girl with light brown hair was sitting near them._

_ "I heard one Uchiha tried to kill the Second Hokage," she piped up. Mikoto grasped her bag tightly as she tried to ignore these people's comments. _

_ "Why don't you just go back home, Uchiha?" the first boy said, standing up and glaring at her. He was a few inches taller than Mikoto. There was no way she'd be able to even defend herself against them. _

_ "Leave her alone, you jerks!" a female voice cried out. A girl with fiery red hair slid in front of Mikoto, crossing her arms and glaring at the boys and girl in front of her._

_ "Oh yeah?" the first boy sneered. He leaned in towards the red-haired girl and whispered, "_Make_ me, Tomato." The red-haired girl glared at him for a few more seconds before turning on her heel and walking away. She grabbed Mikoto's arm as she did so._

_ "Come on," she ordered. Mikoto had no choice but to follow. The red-haired girl led her over to an empty table. "Don't worry about those jerks. They have no sense of decency." She smiled brightly. "What's your name?" Mikoto stared down at her trembling hands._

_ "Uchiha… Mikoto," she whispered. The red-haired girl only grinned more widely._

_ "Mikoto?" she repeated. "That's a nice name." She held her hand out towards Mikoto. "I'm Kushina, and I'm your new best friend!"_

XX

**Wow… writing that made me feel pretty depressed. I had to put "Sadness and Sorrow" on a loop just to get in the right mood and finish this. Basically, it was supposed to play out like a Naruto episode, with flashbacks coming in at random places. I hope it wasn't too confusing… Just a thought, you know how Naruto gets to meet his parents? I wish there was a way for Sasuke to meet his parents too… Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW!**


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